Seal indicator for pumps



July 30, 1940- l DE MONT G. MILLER- 2,209,466

SEAL INDICATOR FOR PUMPS Filed Dec. l5, 1958 3 A F-i-E. I

/Z A @f Patented July 30, 1940 UNITED S'IATES PATENT" OFFICE SEAL INDiCATon FoiePUMPs v De Moni G. Miller, Les lAngeles, Calif. Application Deeember 1s, 193s, serial Ne. 245,425 i claimsl y, (o1. rive-311)' This invention relates generally to deep well turbine pumps and more particularly to devices for indicating the axial adjustment of. the impeller.

An object of this invention is toprovide a seal indicator, which, in its association with a turbine or centrifugal pump, indicates with absolute accuracygengageinent of the pump impeller with its seal so as to enable proper adjustment of the` impeller' to be made in order to obtain maximum pumping eiciency by obviating slippager of water around the impeller.

A further object of the invention is to provide a sealindicator of the above described character by which an accurate indication can be obtained, irrespective of a Worn condition of the seal, so that the latter need not be replaced when worn suiciently to cause a loose fit with theattending loss of emciency, butl instead. a new setting or adjustment cf the impeller made toagain establish the proper relationship of the impeller to the seal for maximum pumpingefciency, thus effecting a considerable saving in the maintenance of the pump. i ,i Still anotherobject of the invention is to provide a seal indicator which is structurally characterized in a manner to enable it to be installed in a pump without modifying the .construction of the pump, so as to enable the indicator tobe readily app-lied to any existing pump.

With these and other objects in View, the invention consists in the combinations, arrangements and functional relationships of elements set forth in the following specification and particularly pointed out in the appended claims.'

In the accompanying drawing, Figure 1 is a vertical sectional View illustrating a deep well turbine pump with lone form of seal indicator embodying this invention applied thereto;

Figure 2 is an enlarged detail sectional View of the seal indicator applied to the pump; Y

Figure 3 is a longitudinal sectionalview taken on the line 3-3 of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is atransverse sectional view taken on the line 4-4 of Figure 2.

In deep well centrifugal or turbinel as at present constructed, a `loss of efficiency is vmainly caused by slippage of water around the impellers. j

In those pumps having enclosed impellers with side seals a loss in efliciency results fromy Yloose nts of parts in manufacture; subsequent wear from abrasion by sand; or oxidationbf ,the metals. Llnany case, necessary repairsecanpbe made only by disassembling the pump and installing newseal rings.

AIn thosepumps having enclosed or open bottom impellers and bottom seal rings, slippage of water is controlled by rstattemptingto set the 5 bottoms kof they impellers in Contact with the seals. However, due to expansion and elasticity of metals, it. is impossible to determine the exact setting of the impellers under operating conditions, from the surface of the well, and is exceedingly difficult with pump settings lover one hundred feet. l

Furthermore, in a multi-stage pump assembly, the impellers are either keyed or wedged on the drive shaft, with imperfect spacing ofthe impellers in a stock pumpso that one impeller may seat as` much as a sixteenth of an inchv before another. In pumps using bottom seals of rubber or hard metals, perfect seals on all impellers is very seldom accomplished.r

In carrying this inventionfinto practice, the multi-stage deep well pump illustrated generally in Figure 1 is provided with bottom seals l0 in the form of rings. These seals are preferably constructedof materials softer than the impellers, such as bronze or lead, which latter, although relatively soft, has been. found highly eflicient and resistant toA wear. Furthermore, materialsl other `than metals, such as resilient rubber, can be used- In constructing the seals l0 of lead, they are reinforced with steel wire Il so that the rings will not readily Vbecome deformed if abused. In existing pumps, these rings will merely be substituted forthe original seal ringsv so as'. to seat inthe bowls I2 of the pump and co-act with the impellers i3 inthe same manner as the original rings. n

One of the rings Ill is utilized in conjunction with an indicating device embodied in this invention and comprising a' switch S composed'of a housing or-support l5 in the form of a metallic cylinder having its ends sealed to provide a fluid-tight chamber i6, by means of elastic rubber plugs I1 and I8 Which'are vulcanized in place. 45

The housing l5l also constitutes a fixed electrical Contact which is adapted to co-act with a movable contact l9 in the form of a metal disk of somewhat smaller diameter than the internal 50 diameter of the housing. The contact I9 is fixed to one end of a` rod 20 theother insulated endv of which passes through and is vulcanized fluidtight ina central opening` 2l in the plug l1 so asto co-actwith the latterfin providingv an elec- 5g:

trically insulated mounting means for the contact.

The contact I9 is thus mounted to normally occupy the open-circuit position shown in Figure 2, wherein it is clear of the housing I5, yet is adapted to be tilted in any direction to occupy a closed-circuit position in engagement with the housing, by the functioning of the plug Il as an elastic fulcrum.

The rod 2li projects from the plug I'I and has fixed thereto exteriorlyA of the housing a head 22 which broadly constitutes an actuating portion of the switch S and is preferably constructed of lead,` (as is the wear ring I) or of some other material having approximately the same wearing quality as the ring, so as to wear at substantially the same rate as the ring, when subjected to the same conditions as the ring, all-for a purpose-to be fully described in the operation of the invention. i A

A suitable indicator which may be audible, such as a bell or buzzer, or visual, such as a lamp or meter, as shown at 25, is conveniently located at the surface of the well, and is in a single' wire circuit through a conductor 26 grounded to the pump, the indicator and a battery 2l being in series with the conductor. A

The conductor 26 extends through the well casing 28, and is adapted to be connected to the contact I9 of Athe switch S when associated with the pump as shown in Figure 1. For this purpose the conductor 26 is vulcanized in an opening in the plug I8 and passes freely through a slot 29 in the contact. The conductor is wound freely around the uninsulated end of the rod 20 so as not to interfere with the free tilting movement thereof, and is permanently xed at 30 to the rod by soldering or other means.

The housing I is externally threaded at 3|, and is applied to the pump, preferably at the bowl I2 of the rst stage of the pump by being screwed into an opening 32 in the wallof the bowl, as shown in Figure l, so as to dispose the actuating head 22 in the bowl at a location eccentrically of the impeller axis, and in the path of rotation of any part of the bottom of the impeller when lowered to a predetermined position by axial adjustment ofthe impeller assembly as a unitfrom the top of the pump by a suitable nut 33 provided for this purpose on the upper end of the impeller shaft 34, all to the end of effecting tilting movement of the head by theimpeller in a wiping motion across the head, to move the contact I9 to its closed-circuit position, as will be fully described in the following operation.

Let it be assumed that the seal indicator is installed as shown in Figure l and that the impeller assembly is to be adjusted to obtain the proper bottom seal.

The impeller assembly is lowered to rest its weight onone or more seals, depending on the `accuracy of the assembly, in which lowered position the actuating head 22 will be disposed in the path of rotation of the bottom shroud or any part of the open bottom of the impeller, as the case may be.Y

Upon rotation of the impeller assembly, the head 22 will be engaged and tilted by the respec tive impellerin a wiping motion perpendicular to` the path of rotationas shown in Figure 3, and will thus cause the contact I9 to engage the housing l5 and close the circuit including the indi-l cator 25.-

The indicator is thus activated to indicate that the impeller assembly. has been lowered sufto abrasive wear from sand or wear from any other cause, a further lowering adjustment of the impeller assembly is made, until upon again operating the pump, the head 22 will be tilted to again close the circuit and activate the indicator 25 to indicate that the impeller is in engagement withl the seal I0.

It will be clear that due to the similarity of materials from which the seal I0 and head 22 are constructed, and to the fact that they are both subjected to similar conditions in the pump they 'will wear substantially uniformly so that thehead 22 will at all times be an accurate gage.

Thus whenever a new setting of the impeller assembly is madeand the indicator is activated, it is assured that the impeller is actually in engagement with its seal. Wear on the seal is thereby automatically compensated for to insure that the indicator will give an accurate indication irrespective of the extent to which the seal I0 is worn, thus making it unnecessary to disassemble the pump and replace worn seals in order to be enabled to accurately determine the axial relationship of the impeller to its seal, as is required with indicators of the prior art.

It will be manifest that the invention is applicable to function with equal eiiiciency in pumps having open bottom impellers, as, in such an installation, the head 22 will be engaged by the bottom Iedges of the vanes during rotation of the impeller assembly.

What is claimed is:

1. 1n a deep well turbine pump having a bottom seal member, an impeller, means to vertically adjust the impeller relative to the seal member, a signal circuit including a switch; means for actuating the switch; said means including an actuating portion composed of a material having substantially the same wearing quality as the bottom sealing member and means mounting said actuating means in a position for said portion thereof to be moved [by the impeller with a wi-ping motion of its lower surface in response to rotation of the impeller, so as to actuate the switch when the impeller rotates'in contact with the seal member and actuating means.

2. In a deep well turbine pump having a :bottom seal member, an impeller, means to vertically adjust the impeller relative to the seal member, a signal circuit including a switch; means for actuating the switch; said means including an actuating portion composed Iof a material having substantially the same wearing quality as the bottom sealing member; and means moun-ting said actuating means from the pump bowl with said actuating portion located eccentrically of the impeller axis, and for switch actuating movement by the impeller with a wiping motion of its lower surface as vthe impeller is rotatedr in 'contact with the seal member and actuating means.

3. In a deep well turbine `pum-p having a bottom seal member, an impeller, means to vertically 'adjust the impeller relative to the seal member,

a signal circuit including' a switch; means for actuating the switch; said means including an actuatngportion composedcf a. material having substantially the same Wearing quality as the bottom sealing member; and means tiltably mounting said actuating means in a position for said actuating portion thereof to be tilted by a wiping motion of the impeller during its rotation, so as to a'ctuate the switch when the impeller rotates in contact with the seal member and actuating means.

4. In a deep well tunbine pump, an impeller; a bot-tom seal member; means to vertically ad.- just the impeller relative to the seal member; indicator activating means of substantially the .same wearing quality as the seal member; and

means movably mounting said activating means 'in a position for the latter to be moved by the impeller with a wiping motion of its lower surface in response to rotation of the impeller, for activation of an indicator when the impeller rotates in contact with the seal member and activating means.

5. In a deep well turbine pump, an impeller; a bottom seal member; means to vertically adjust the impeller relative to the seal member; indicator activating means having an actuating portion of substantially the same wearing quality as the seal member; and means mounting said activating means from the pump bowl with said portion located eccentrically of the impeller axis for movement by a wiping motion of the impeller when rotating, to -a'ctivate an indicator when the impeller contacts the seal member.

6. In a deepfwell turbine pump, an impeller; a bottom seal member; means to vertically adjust the impeller relative to the-seal member; indicator activating means having an actuating portion of substantially the same wearing quality as the seal member.; and means tiltably mounting said activating means "with said portion thereof in a position to be tilted by a wiping motion of the impeller when rotating, for activation of an indicator upon contact of the impeller with the seal member.

'7. A seal indicator for deep well turbine pumps having a rotary impeller unit vertically adjustable with respect to a seal member, which comprises: a housing adapted to fbe supported by a pump bowl; a contact.; means movably mounting and sealing said contact in the housing to normally occupy one position; and meansy of substantially the same wearing quality as the seal member; said means being connected to said p DE MONT G. MILLER. 

